Airport Interlude
by Idan
Summary: During a layover, Cho people watches. Some are strangers, and some are family. Post White Orchids.


**Author's Note:** I was coming home from a business trip when my Denver layover was enlivened by this story coming to me. It's not much but I thought I'd share. And for those of you waiting for the new Napa chapter, sorry, but I'm working on it, I promise!

* * *

Efficiently sweeping a bite of bland lo mein into his mouth with the cheap wood chopsticks, Cho's gaze swept the airport corridor below, automatically scanning for anything out of the ordinary. It was an engrained habit for most people who worked in law enforcement, but his was much older than his career. You didn't stay alive long in a gang without better than average situational awareness.

So it was with wry amusement that he realized he'd chosen a table in the corner where no one could sneak up behind him, beside the clear panel that ringed the mezzanine level where he'd gotten his lunch. Here he could see without being much seen. And he hadn't thought about it consciously at all.

It was also a great spot to people watch. He'd finished his book on the first leg of the journey and given it to Jane, who'd been pestering him for conversation for the last two chapters. Cho supposed Jane deserved some consideration for giving Lisbon the coveted aisle seat and not conning him out of his preferred window seat, instead taking the hated middle. Lisbon, now noticeably pregnant, had fallen asleep on her husband's shoulder immediately after takeoff.

Cho was glad Jane had agreed to help with this case, a nasty brew of political ambition and family dysfunction leading to blackmail and then murder. His conditions were reasonable: Lisbon had to come along but be desk bound in the Albuquerque office. Lisbon hadn't thought the deal quite as reasonable, but she knew it was futile to argue with Jane and Cho when they were in agreement.

Cho figured he'd hit a bookstore when he finished eating. Jane had asked him why he didn't buy an electronic reader, and Cho had shrugged and said books never break. The truth was, he liked the tactile experience of a book. Old books were the best, with that aged paper and glue smell, but any book was warmer and more enjoyable than a piece of metal and plastic. Besides, he spent most of his working life looking at a screen. His eyes weren't getting any younger, and sometimes they needed a break.

But he'd seen that gleam in Jane's eye. There was a Kindle Christmas present in his future, or, knowing Jane, a top of the line iPad Air. The consultant had always had an extravagant sense of generosity, but now that he was married with a kid on the way, he seemed determined to spread his joy around.

Wylie's birthday last week was an event to remember, a Jane surprise party with a guest list that included a surprising number of young up-and-comers in Austin, most notably a lovely young woman whose tech startup was the talk of the town. Cho didn't know what had made the bigger impression on his young team member: the fact that Maria Llanos had actually seemed to enjoy talking to him or the breathtakingly expensive piece of computer equipment Jane and Lisbon had bought him.

Most couples starting a family were careful with money, but Patrick Jane used casinos as ATMs. Despite the lavish nursery taking shape in the former shack on the lake, he thought nothing was too good for his friends.

Cho allowed himself a wry smile as he finished his lunch. A flash of movement below brought him back to his surroundings, and he watched a young mother laden with a large backpack complete with a booster seat dangling from one side, plus a smaller backpack worn on her front, trot across the corridor, trying to keep up with the blond toddler scampering along the side of the moving walkway.

Would that be Lisbon in a couple of years? The thought pleased him. She deserved to have the life she wanted, and if that included perpetuating the Jane gene pool, he wished her all the luck in the world.

She wouldn't be chasing a toddler while packing 50 pounds of gear, though. Jane would hire her a Sherpa if he wasn't around to help. Or more likely, he'd decide his family was too precious to trust to an airline and buy a private jet.

Jane claimed he hadn't decided whether he was coming back to work after the baby was born, but Cho knew he wasn't. Not on a regular basis, anyway. Once that little life was put into his arms, he'd hardly be able to let go. He'd stay home and enjoy every minute of fatherhood, even the vomity poopy parts. If they got a nasty case and Lisbon asked for help, he'd give it, but Cho knew the FBI wouldn't matter to Jane in comparison to his family. Jane cared about people, not the law.

A group of young adults laughed their way down the moving walkway, enjoying their travels. Cho wondered if he'd ever been that young.

Then his eye was drawn by a couple strolling below. Even at a distance, he could see how much in love they were. Everything in their body language confirmed it, from the way the man's arm circled the woman's waist to how she leaned her cheek against his shoulder. Despite the difference in their heights, they were perfectly in step. Even if he hadn't known them, he'd have recognized this as a mature, stable love.

How many people were ever that lucky? Cho knew what they'd been through, but he still considered Jane and Lisbon the most fortunate people he knew. Theirs was the kind of love extolled by books and movies but rarely found in real life.

As he watched, Lisbon stopped, one hand going to her stomach. Jane stopped too, his look of concern vanishing into a smile as Lisbon took his hand and put it on her belly. From the way he was beaming, Cho guessed he'd felt the baby move.

They both looked so happy. It was hard to believe they were the same two people he'd watched bicker and suffer all those years. Jane had been married to his quest for revenge and Lisbon to her job, but here they were building a family together. It was amazing and inspiring.

Cho had long ago decided the job was enough for him. Summer had nearly been a catastrophe, and before that, his last girlfriend had gotten beat up to send him a message. He was a lousy boyfriend, anyway, with no tolerance for the kind of drama Rigsby and Van Pelt had generated. He was better off alone. He had a good life; he was content.

Except sometimes watching Jane pick Lisbon up in the evening, all kissing and smiles, he wasn't. Cho supposed it was human nature to want a mate, and having a happy couple around just made it impossible to ignore. Maybe he'd ask that shy, serious woman in HR out sometime. She seemed like a low drama kind of person, and he'd noticed she liked to read. They could talk about books over coffee.

At that moment, Jane happened to look up. He was still wearing a dopey grin as he waved. Lisbon looked up and smiled.

Cho smiled back, then got up, carrying his empty carton over to the trash can. It was almost time for their flight to Austin to board anyway.

As he went down the escalator to join his friends, he saw Jane whisper something in Lisbon's ear. She smacked him in the shoulder in a good humored reprimand.

It occurred to Cho that it was only a matter of time before Jane decided to do more to make him happy than buying him a Kindle. He'd better ask someone out before he found himself an unwilling client in a Jane matchmaking service. While Jane would probably choose well, Cho didn't want to be fixed up. He'd had enough of that from his mother.

"The food any good?" Jane asked as Cho stepped off the escalator.

"Okay," Cho replied. "You guys eat?"

"Not yet," Lisbon said. "Dr. Jane here decided I needed to stretch my legs instead."

Jane smiled fondly at her. "And now I will procure a delicious to-go bag for you and the baby to eat on the plane."

"I want a hamburger. And onion rings." There was defiance in Lisbon's tone, and Cho hid a smile. If Jane had his way, Lisbon would only be eating organic free range non-GMO whole foods. "No, a cheeseburger. A bacon cheeseburger," she added.

"Bison?" Jane suggested hopefully, eyeing the more upscale eateries nearby.

"Beef," Lisbon said firmly.

Jane looked pained, but he acquiesced. "Okay. Meet you at the gate." He headed for the up escalator.

Cho and Lisbon headed toward the gates. "Feeling okay?" he asked.

"Don't you start," Lisbon grumbled. "I'm fine."

"Hey, you're the one who decided to get knocked up by an obsessive personality," Cho pointed out.

"True. And we're halfway through. I just hope I don't strangle him before the birth."

"If you were going to kill him, you'd have done it years ago."

That got a chuckle. "I guess so."

Cho wasn't one for small talk, but he realized there was a lot he didn't know. Lisbon discouraged talk about her pregnancy in the office, as if she expected them all to ignore it. "You gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Next week."

"Can I buy something for this kid, or does Jane already have that covered?"

Lisbon smiled. "A teddy bear or something that doesn't claim to enhance the baby's early educational experience would be great."

Cho chuckled. "That I can do."

They looked around the crowded gate area. Every seat was taken by either a passenger or a bag, so Cho picked a young man who was taking up three seats between himself, his laptop, and his backpack. "Move that. She's pregnant."

The man looked at Cho, then Lisbon, then Cho again. Without a word, he heaved his backpack to the floor.

"Thanks," Lisbon said, sitting down.

A few minutes later, Jane found them, carrying two bags that smelled delicious. Lisbon reached for hers and happily munched on an onion ring.

"Here," Jane said, reaching into the other bag and handing Cho a tiny wax paper bundle.

Cho unwrapped a caramel—his favorite, though he didn't think he'd ever told Jane that—and popped it in his mouth. "Thanks."

Jane grinned as if he'd gushed over it. "You're welcome." Then he drew out a foil wrapped taco and began eating with gusto.

Cho looked away in case his thoughts made it to his face. These people were his family. His messy, sometimes weird, but loyal and loving family. And this baby would be as close as he ever got to being an uncle. He might be a crappy boyfriend, but he'd be the best uncle this kid could hope for.

As long as he didn't have to change diapers.

When he looked back at Jane, the consultant was wearing the grin that implied he knew exactly what Cho had been thinking. But of course Jane used that grin to unnerve, not because he could read minds.

"So, my good friend," Jane said, "how about you join us for dinner tomorrow?"

"Sure." Jane was a good cook. But wait. What was that smug twinkle in his eye? "But not if it's a fix up."

Cho felt triumphant that he recognized Jane's innocent look as fake.

"Would I do that to you?" Jane asked in mock offense.

"Yes."

"No fix ups," Lisbon said firmly. "Just dinner. We'll invite Wylie too."

"Sounds good."

Jane pouted at Lisbon, but Cho knew he would already have a plan B. The man never knew when to quit.

The gate agent announced pre-boarding, and Jane said, "Let's go."

"No rush," Lisbon said. "We're in Group Four."

"No we're not. I upgraded us to first. I can't have you and Junior squashed into a coach seat again."

Lisbon rolled her eyes, but there was no hiding that she was pleased. "Fine."

She stood, preempting Jane's attempt to help her up, and headed for the gate.

Jane looked over his shoulder at Cho. "You coming?"

Cho held out his hand for his new boarding pass, tucked into a paperback of the next book he'd been planning to read. "Thanks, man."

"My pleasure," Jane said, then hurried to catch up with Lisbon.

Cho grinned.

Yep. Family.


End file.
